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00:00 Welcome everybody into the Big Ten show. I am your host Adam a
00:04 Character we got a lot to talk about today. We're talking about Caitlin Clark
00:08 The probably the greatest college women's basketball player of all time
00:14 There's other cases to be made most of those women wore the UConn jersey a couple of more the Baylor jersey
00:19 Okay, things of that nature when you look at just a straight basketball credentials
00:23 But I'm gonna talk about Caitlin Clark just a little bit to top off the show or to start off the show
00:26 then we're going to get into
00:30 My way too early Big Ten football power rankings my top
00:35 10 teams and a couple of
00:37 Honorable mentions as well and why they weren't just quite putting the top 10 and then some teams that guys just got a long freaking
00:43 Ways to go before we start football up in
00:46 September but we're gonna I'm gonna give my top 10 way too early Big Ten preseason power rankings
00:52 That was a mouthful also the NFL draft not too far away
00:56 I'm gonna give my top 10 Big Ten players as it stands right now
01:01 Okay, post senior Bowl pre combine heading in to the NFL draft, which is only a couple of months away
01:08 Ladies and gentlemen, but before we dive into this light that candle
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01:33 Dot-com. Alright, let's start right off the top with Caitlin Clark
01:37 Most of you know breaks the women's all-time scoring record in a game where she dropped 49 points 13 assists
01:44 I think sometimes people forget
01:47 She's the first ever collegiate basketball player women's basketball player to reach 3,000 points and get a thousand assists
01:55 Okay, she's an all-around well-rounded player. Not just a scorer. Not just a shooter. Not a ball hog things of that nature
02:01 She can shoot it. She can dish it. She can do all these sorts of things
02:05 Now you look at where she is just in the all-time scoring rankings regardless of men women
02:08 Etc. The odds are she's gonna break that all-time NCAA basketball scoring record for men's and or women's before
02:15 The season's and now here's what's interesting to me. I know as a Nebraska guy as an alum
02:22 Okay, as a guy who played there as a guy who talks Nebraska football Big Ten football college football NFL football
02:27 I'm supposed to hate everything Iowa, right? I'm just it's supposed to all I'm supposed to vomit regurgitate
02:33 I just should have nothing to want to do with anything, Iowa, right?
02:36 Well most of the time I do but let's I let's keep this in mind
02:40 I try to be objective as much as I possibly can be
02:42 All right, and when I keep that in mind, I got a lot of respect for Caitlin Clark and what she can do
02:46 And her game she's not just a scorer. She's a pastor. She does a lot of things really really well
02:50 She's also insanely polarizing now when you're really really good at something sometimes just comes along with the territory
02:56 Okay, but she seems to be more polarizing
03:00 Than most people not a lot of people as good as she is and whatever it is that they're doing
03:05 But most people aren't as polarizing as her
03:08 So I've tried to figure out why and I have a couple of theories now some people think she's cocky
03:12 Now I remember the Iowa LSU championship game and going back and forth and all of that
03:18 And I think that struck some people the wrong way
03:20 Struck a nerve maybe some people have just kind of held on to that in their memory banks for a lot of people that
03:24 Was their introduction to Caitlin Clark?
03:26 Hey first impressions matter and sometimes that just sticks with people
03:30 And I'm not even gonna argue whether that was Caitlin's fault whether it wasn't which side it was on at the time
03:35 That's in the past
03:36 But I do think that first impression because that was a lot of people's first impression to Caitlin Clark has stuck with people
03:41 Okay, whether you liked or didn't like what happened at the time. So I think some people feel like she's cocky
03:47 Okay, I don't really hear talk a lot of trash or say a lot of things
03:51 You know, you got the hand gestures that are always happening and in the basketball games that are always over analyzed to the nth degree
03:56 You know, I'm not supposed to talk politics or religion or things of that nature
04:01 I do know she's Catholic and sometimes in a world where it's all about inclusiveness and things of that nature
04:06 Sometimes if you are strong in your religion that can become a negative thing in some people's eyes
04:12 So I wonder if that's held against her by some folks. Maybe it's a plus in other folks minds
04:16 I'm throwing out theories here. Okay, so I can't help but wonder about some of these things
04:21 So I'm gonna give you one thing that I found
04:24 Okay, full disclosure. My wife found and she sent it to me. So credit to my wife Angie Carricker
04:29 All right, she played growing up youth basketball Caitlin Clark actually played on a boys team
04:35 Growing up. Okay. Now this team went on to win championships and here's what happened
04:41 You want to know how people responded?
04:43 Parents complained that she shouldn't be playing with the boys because she was too good
04:49 Pause for frickin if are you kidding me pause for effect. She shouldn't be playing with the boys because she was beating up the boys
04:57 Like what in the blue hell are we talking about?
05:01 Okay
05:02 and this isn't where she was identifying as a girl and playing as a girl or
05:06 Identifying as a boy and playing as a but none of that
05:09 She was a girl on a boys team that won championships and she was pretty much the best player on that team and parents complained
05:16 People are gonna find a way to complain if you're winning you're gonna become polarizing if you're winning
05:21 Okay, talk about being a Nebraska guy you go back to the 90s
05:24 You want to talk about one of the most polarizing runs in college football history when it comes to how general college football fans look
05:30 At them the 90s Nebraska championship teams. Okay, you've got all these things that took place and all this speculation and yada
05:37 Yada, yada, if you win, you're gonna get people's attention. And if you get people's attention, there's gonna be divisiveness no matter what you do
05:44 Okay, so for me
05:46 I'm not gonna sit here and tell you that I'm a Caitlin Caitlin Clark expert and I absolutely root against Iowa and all things
05:52 But I do try to be objective when I'm on my show cuz that's my attempt to try to be professional
05:56 At least a smidge. I got a lot of respect for her game
05:59 It's a well-rounded game and when she goes to the WNBA
06:03 She's going to be someone who could potentially take a team to the next level
06:07 I am interested and how some of the other players and her teammates reactors are gonna be jealousy is are they gonna accept her as
06:13 A teammate how's that locker room atmosphere?
06:15 Going to be to whatever team she goes to and what can she potentially do to try to make it more positive?
06:21 Be humble be quiet as a rookie rookies are seen and not heard
06:25 Okay, and that those are the types of things she can do but at the end of the day
06:29 She can only control so much. I've just kind of been intrigued by this Caitlin Clark
06:33 You know the past few months to a year since a championship game this Caitlin Clark whole scenario
06:39 That's kind of played out from how good she is to the record
06:42 She said - she might set in the future to just kind of the polarization of her. I find her to be very very intriguing
06:47 I'm the man. I'm a man who has six kids five daughters. Oh, by the way, I have Trinity
06:53 Okay, her girls basketball team speaking of girls kicking boys butts
06:58 So there are fifth and sixth grade team. They're pretty good. My wife Angie's the coach shout out to her again
07:02 They never play girls their own age. They always play up. They always play seventh graders
07:07 Okay, sometimes it goes well, sometimes it doesn't those seventh graders. They're starting to hit puberty
07:11 Sometimes they're just bigger faster taller and it just straight up ain't fair
07:15 But when they play girls teams their own age, it tends to be lopsided and you know, you're looking for competition
07:21 So that's why they play up. I said Ange. Why don't you just go play boys?
07:24 Go play fifth sixth grade boys or even fourth fifth grade boys because they're gonna be about your size
07:29 You don't have to worry about our daughter
07:31 Who's not the biggest in the world getting ran over by a girl who's already looking like a woman
07:35 And our daughter has not hit puberty yet
07:37 She's in the fifth grade not a sixth grader on this team and maybe she'll be a little bit safer
07:41 But these boys will be faster. Okay, then most teams they play. This is just what I've seen and it'll be good competition
07:47 So that's what they did. They went into a boys tournament
07:49 First thing the opposing boys courts coach looked at my wife
07:51 I didn't said was you're on the wrong court girls are over there like you had no idea they were playing them
07:57 By the way, how unprepared is that coach?
07:59 Okay, my wife's like no
08:00 This is our court and then they went out and they won the tournament championship in the boys tournament and then so that was a Saturday
08:07 Then one of the opposing boys teams was playing again on Sunday at just a couple of league games
08:12 But they were gonna be short players. They only had five players no subs
08:15 So they asked my daughter and her best friend to be subs on that team and they went and played with the boys the next
08:21 Day because they earned their respect by kicking the crap out of them. They've been a basketball since you know, I'm saying and
08:26 They had a blast they had a blast
08:29 I just when I heard that about Caitlin Clark playing with boys and then having success against boys and
08:36 Parents complaining the most asinine thing I've ever heard like grow up get a life and stop living vicariously through your children, please
08:42 Okay, it made me think of my own kids
08:45 And if my my wife's team or my daughter's team or my boys team that I coached for years went out and got their butts
08:51 Kicked that's fine. Okay, obviously I want them to do good. It's not about wins and losses
08:55 It's about it just it resonated with me because it made me think of my own kids and I thought it was interesting
09:02 I thought it was interesting because Caitlin's she's older. It's a little bit different, you know adults sometimes look at kids sports differently
09:09 So my daughter and her friend Maddie were accepted whereas Caitlin's more polarizing. Anyways, I digress
09:15 Let's chat a little bit of way too early big ten football power rankings
09:20 Now I got my top ten. Now here's here's some teams that are nowhere near making this list, Indiana Purdue, Illinois. Holy crap
09:26 You're not even close to the top ten. So here are the honorable mentions
09:29 All right, honorable mention
09:32 number one I
09:34 Got UCLA now
09:36 They got a new head coach to Sean Foster. They got a new head coach. You've never been a head coach
09:41 Never been a coordinator. So Adam, how can they be honorable mention? Well, there's only 18 teams
09:45 And if you're not in the top 10, you're not even the top 50% of the conference. Let's just start with that
09:48 But there's actually a lot of talent on that roster
09:51 There actually really is now chip Kelly's a good coach, but he was checked out
09:56 The moment that bowl game ended against Boise State he was looking to get out
10:00 So you think he was really that vested while he was there now? I'm not saying UCLA's gonna set the world on fire
10:04 I don't even have him in the top 50% of the Big Ten. I'm just saying there's talent there
10:09 Deshaun Foster is gonna learn on the job. He is there's gonna be some valuable lessons learned
10:13 But my guess is he's gonna motivate a team like they haven't been motivated in a while
10:18 he's gonna galvanize some boosters and a fan base like they haven't been galvanized in a while and
10:22 That's going to be
10:25 Probably an improvement while he learned some major lessons on the job because he's never done anything like this before
10:29 He's only been a running backs coach. So I'm rooting for him
10:32 I just know they got some talent on that roster and
10:35 While the head coach learns and the coaching staff learns I think they can win a few games along the way
10:39 but that being said they're only
10:41 They're only honorable mention
10:43 All right
10:44 I'm gonna head into my
10:46 top ten
10:48 Here, I'm gonna start at number 10 Northwestern. This was a team
10:51 That won one game two years ago
10:54 with Pat Fitzgerald
10:56 Then everything what it went down the way it did before the football season last year Pat Fitzgerald is gone
11:01 And everyone's like, oh my lord
11:03 They may not win a game this year
11:05 They went out and went bowling and they had a really good season and I don't know how they did it except they got a
11:10 Really good coach and they decided to make him their full-time head coach
11:12 This is a Northwestern team that doesn't have the talent of a UCLA
11:15 But they have a program a cultural locker room and clearly a head coach
11:19 That everything else gives them the advantage over UCLA at the moment. Anyways, I
11:24 Would love to watch Northwestern UCLA play this year because the contrasting styles the contrasting just everything about but I got Northwest ahead of UCLA
11:32 At least at the moment just a smidge
11:35 Number nine you got Rutt Rutgers. You got Greg Siano doing his thing up in Piscataway, New Jersey again
11:40 This is a guy who had Rutgers about 15 years ago or so
11:43 Maybe a little bit longer 16 17 years all the way up to number two in the country
11:47 Back when the Big E still played football in the Big E still existed and people knew what I was talking about when I was talking
11:52 College football in the Big East
11:53 Conference no longer at least they still play basketball
11:55 but Greg Siano
11:58 Built Rutgers up once chopping wood, right? That's his big thing. Then he goes to the Giants
12:02 The NFL doesn't go so great eventually makes his way meanders on back down or on up to Piscataway, Wisconsin
12:08 New Jersey and he's got Rutgers not up to number two in the country
12:12 But he's got a program that I sat here before this season last year and said they got one of the worst
12:17 Rosters in the Big Ten a team that went bowling and looked awfully good last year
12:21 Played Ohio State way closer than anybody including myself thought that they should have played him. Okay, so this is a team
12:27 I've got preseason power rankings for the Big Ten Conference number nine going into the season way too early power
12:32 Conference rankings now the next one I
12:34 Have Nebraska at number eight now. This is there's a couple of wild cards. Oh, there's there's one honorable mention
12:41 I've forgotten that's Washington the Washington Huskies now. I
12:43 Google some things online and most people had them in their preseason top ten and I'm just like yeah
12:51 They played for the national title and yes
12:53 They were the second best team in the country last year and they smoked
12:56 Texas in the first college football playoff game and they went undefeated and probably what was the conference
13:02 Toughest conference in America last year conference that no longer exists. I guess the pack - I don't know who cares
13:07 The fact of the matter is this
13:09 Washington
13:11 Lost 15 starters to other power five conference teams. They lost their head coach. They lost several things
13:17 They had a quarterback transfer in then transfer out. They've only got two returning starters. This is the team
13:22 I kind of don't know what to make of but I think they could have a rough intro year into the Big Ten
13:27 But I got them and the honorable mention conversation simply because of what they did last year
13:31 Okay, now that I'm jumping all over the place. We're gonna go back to number eight and that's Nebraska
13:34 This is another team. It's a bit of a wild card. I mean you compare what Nebraska did last year to Washington
13:39 It's not even close
13:41 But when you look at what Nebraska has returning versus Washington including a head coach
13:45 Including upgrades on the coaching staff including a lot of players coming back you could argue
13:50 You know ten different players who started a lot of games last year on defense Tony white coming back
13:56 It's probably gonna be a head coach in the near future which makes me happy for him sad
14:00 But whenever he does leave but we're gonna join him in the meantime defensive coordinator at Nebraska
14:04 Okay, you look at they bring in Dylan Ryola
14:09 When the top recruits Nebraska's ever brought in probably the top ranked recruit at least since Marlon lucky
14:14 Okay running back who came in in the early to mid 2000s
14:17 True freshman Heinrich Harburg coming back won five games last year another quarterback
14:22 He got Daniel Kaelin another true freshman. The offensive line should be much better
14:26 They brought in two potential starters. Okay at
14:30 wide receiver
14:32 Okay, a couple of transfers. They got a plethora of running backs
14:36 The defense is gonna be solid special teams has finally been solid for a couple years a real questions that quarterback position
14:42 It's either gonna be a true freshman
14:45 Dylan Daniel or
14:47 An individual who I love a lot a Swiss Army knife
14:51 But has been talked about playing other positions and I recovered at quarterback
14:55 The biggest question is quarterback and how does this team come together throughout the offseason?
14:58 So this is a team that I think
15:01 Has way higher upside this year than then what Washington after everything Washington's just went through in the offseason
15:08 Even though Washington had a way better season last year. So this is where it's kind of like
15:13 You're kind of trying to figure out where the odds are of which team's gonna have a better season when it comes to Washington or
15:20 Nebraska Rutgers or Northwestern so far, but this is where I got him number nine Northwestern
15:25 I'm sorry number ten Northwestern number nine Rutgers and number eight Nebraska at the moment because of what they've got coming back
15:32 Okay, they have the highest percentage of returning production of any team in the entire Big Ten
15:38 That includes Ohio State that includes Michigan who's had a bunch of players leave, but that includes all the top teams including Penn State
15:45 All right
15:47 Let's move on
15:49 number seven
15:51 We got Wisconsin
15:53 Now their top transfer portal addition is quarterback Tyler van Dyke
15:57 Now Wisconsin's had themselves a quality offseason including nabbing quarterback Tyler van Dyke from Miami
16:04 Okay, the Badgers showed some flashes under Luke fickle in his first year and could be a bit under the radar going into this fall
16:12 They got stronger and stronger as a year went along last year. They also got healthier and healthier that healthier
16:17 They were pretty beat up at one point. So at number seven, I got Wisconsin at this point in time and number six
16:23 It's Iowa
16:26 Okay, I
16:27 Never know what to make of Iowa year in and year out. They play great defense. They create play great special teams
16:32 They don't know what a forward passes and unless they score a safety. How are they gonna score points on offense?
16:37 Well, they fire their offensive coordinator best of luck to Brian Ferentz in the future
16:41 I know I've referred to him as baby Ferentz in the past, you know
16:45 When a guy gets let go of his job, I kind of dropped that title and he gets his first name back
16:48 Just hey, he's trying to put food on the table for his family, too. So this Iowa team
16:53 Okay, honestly, who knows how different this offense will look next fall
16:58 But the talent on that side of the ball still lacks behind most of the big ten. That's the big concern
17:02 But the Hawkeyes defense however will likely once again be one of the best in the country
17:07 Special teams would be one of the best in the country. They're an extremely
17:11 Disciplined team who doesn't beat themselves. They don't commit penalties. They don't turn the ball over
17:14 Kirk Ferentz has been doing it a long long time
17:18 Okay
17:21 This is a guy
17:22 Who's a really good head coach if you're not an Iowa fan
17:26 You're gonna say the trophy case is empty
17:27 If you are an Iowa fan
17:29 You're gonna point to the fact that you win anywhere from eight to ten games year in and year out and every once in a
17:34 While you compete for a big ten title, although there's no longer East and West divisions
17:37 So that would be much much much tougher for Iowa going forward in the future
17:42 But for right now, I got him in the preseason way too early big ten power rankings for college football
17:45 2024 season at number six in the Big Ten Conference. All right now this next team
17:51 Let's be real. They're a complete and utter freaking wild card the USC Trojans
17:57 this is
17:59 All right, they have come out and said they're gonna kind of redo everything. They're going into year three
18:05 All right under the new under not new anymore, but he's treating it like he's the new head coach year three under their head coach
18:10 But he's basically said we're gonna scrap everything and do it completely differently
18:13 Here's the deal in that, Texas game. They have a
18:16 Probably the best defensive tackle do on the entire country last year one of the best d-lines. Okay a d-line that terrorized, Alabama
18:25 Okay on the road when they when they beat Bama at in Bama's house early in the season
18:32 Didn't hardly faze Michael Pennis. He got rid of the ball quick. He got it out fast now
18:36 His receivers were open and he had three NFL receivers on that roster
18:39 But he had to make the reads he had to make the throws he had to do it quickly and he had to do
18:42 It now
18:42 Had to do with arm strength and accuracy and he did it and the few times Texas did come free
18:46 He'd go to his check down. Boom, just like that. Now the hesitation is the injuries like I mentioned earlier
18:51 He did not look good against, Michigan
18:54 Do one thing for me
18:56 Name one quarterback that looked good against, Michigan last year now
19:00 He would have helped himself and he got the crap beat out of him in that, Michigan game
19:04 He walked off that field a very different man than he did walking off the field versus, Texas
19:09 And it wasn't just about the scoreboard
19:11 Michigan was legit legit on defense legit pass rush just legit
19:15 now
19:18 He would have helped himself a lot had he just looked like an average quarterback in that, Michigan game because it's hard to figure out
19:24 Was he just not that good was Michigan just really that good was it a combination of both?
19:29 Because he's sort of drafts draft boards after the, Texas game and then I know he leveled way off
19:35 So to speak after the, Michigan game the people who had him soaring after the, Texas game had not watched
19:40 Him at all this year. I was not surprised at all
19:44 I was surprised Texas didn't get to him more but I wasn't surprised when he had time
19:48 That he got rid of the ball as well as he did
19:51 Against, Michigan. I knew it'd be a lot tougher. I was hoping he'd have more success
19:55 I thought he would have more success. He obviously did not not consistently anyways, but this is a guy who could easily go first round
20:01 I could see him potentially dropping just with some of the concerns
20:05 But I do see him going late in the first round probably. All right last number ten
20:10 big ten player the on the early
20:14 Going into the NFL draft board per Adam Carriker's, Bo Nix. This is a guy when you talk about efficiency
20:20 I mean if you want a guy who can come in and probably be ready to start day one as much as anybody
20:25 I mean he set the career record for starts and the FBS was 61
20:30 I think he played 92 seasons of college football. I remember watching his first game. He ever started at Auburn
20:36 I don't think my son Jacob who's 14 now was born yet. I do I remember watching it was at my in-laws house
20:42 It was in the basement. That was a heck of a game. It was one of those early
20:46 Neutral site games I forget who they were playing. It's not the one where they got killed by Georgia
20:53 That was a different game. But this is a guy with a lot of experience very efficient. He also set
20:58 The FBS record for completion percentage. He broke Mac Jones's record the former Alabama quarterback
21:04 Phonics did by completing 77 point four or five percent of his 45 percent of his passes this year
21:09 This is a guy with experience. This is a guy and I'm not saying he's not talented. I mean, are you kidding me?
21:14 He's talented. I just don't think his ceiling is as high as a Michael Penix
21:18 I also think his floor isn't anywhere near as low as a Michael Penix or JJ McCarthy
21:22 Okay, those are the two quarterbacks in the draft that I think I have a really high ceiling JJ and Michael and also have the lowest
21:28 Floor potentially because there's the biggest question marks about them. You could say that about Caleb Williams as well
21:33 You can say about any quarterback. There's no guarantee
21:35 You know when it comes to drafting players
21:38 That's just part of the draft process and that's why some teams are really bad year after year because they're really bad at it
21:43 And there's the same teams that tend to draft lower tend to always draft lower because they tend to evaluate
21:49 Prospects better and they tend to win more games
21:50 So they're always drafting lower the teams that always draft I tend to usually keep drafting high because they're not very good at evaluating
21:55 Prospects, how do you always have a top pick one of the top picks and yet you don't get better that blows my mind
22:01 I kind of just explained it. My point is simply this bow. Nix is a guy
22:05 Like if I'm the Niners, he might be a guy that I'm I am
22:09 And I ain't nothing against Purdy. All right
22:13 Brock Purdy, this is a dude. That's a really good quarterback
22:19 But and he played well in the Super Bowl. He answered a lot of questions in the Super Bowl
22:22 but to me the Niners have
22:26 Along with the Eagles the two best rosters in all of football and remember the Eagles were 10 and 1
22:30 After their first 11 games this year, then they fell off a cliff
22:33 10 and 1 and then they won one game the rest of the year and got
22:37 Embarrassed on the road by a pretty good Tampa Bay Bucks team in the playoffs, but not great
22:41 okay, Tampa went up to Detroit and fought the Lions really hard so I got respect for that but
22:46 The Eagles and the Niners have the two best rosters and the only question mark
22:51 I have about the Niners is their quarterback position and maybe Purdy is the long-term answer again
22:56 He answered a lot of questions in that Super Bowl. They did not lose that game because of him
22:59 Their first two drives. He looked great. Not good great before
23:04 Spagnola the Chiefs defensive coordinator made some adjustments. It's not his fault. The Caffrey fumbled on that first drive. They're going in the score
23:11 It's not his fault
23:12 They had 14 million penalties on the second drive was stalled the drive
23:15 The 49ers easily could have had a 10 or 14 point lead right out the gate and they didn't it wasn't his fault
23:20 that being said he's still the biggest question mark on that team and I see a Bo Nix potentially be being a guy that could
23:27 Come in and compete and let the best man win and I'm not a Niners fan
23:31 That's just a team that pops into my head
23:33 They're a team that's gonna be drafting late
23:35 Obviously in the first round Bo Nix could be a late first round pick maybe take it higher mid first round
23:39 Who knows could be a good fit. All right, ladies and gentlemen, this has been one of the longer big ten shows
23:44 I've done in a while. I guess when I don't have a co-host I just talk more
23:48 Like I said, I don't have a real job. I get a talk sports
23:52 All right until next time ladies and gentlemen, have a phenomenal day and it's been the big 10 show with Adam character
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